July 13, 2017

This Tokyo University Stairway is Straight Out of a Video Game

Education in Japan is of the utmost importance and therefore the credentials of what university you decide to attend can mean the difference between landing a job or being rejected. The University of Tokyo, which is an elite institution and the most respected one in Japan, is the hardest of them all to get into.

The school is known for its creative and artistic culture and it's historic landmarks such as it's Red Gate and click tower, but recently Japanese Twitter user @kazuokiriyama_ took notice of one of the school's more distinctive works of architecture...

The staircase can be found in Building 1 of the medical department. As you can see it's just a regular staircase...aside from the fact that only three steps up you'll smack right into a wall and can't go up the rest of the staircase.

@kazuokiriyama_'s tweet translated reads:

"An example of graphical glitches in the real world"

While many replied with their own theories (my personal favorite being that someone is sealed in the wall), some gave more reasonable explanations such as it's seismic reinforcement to help make the building safer in the event of an earthquake (considering it's Japan, makes sense), which was probably made after the building’s construction was completed.

Whatever the case is, I think we can all agree it's pretty interesting to have such a wacky landmark lying around your school.

So what do you think of this unorthodox staircase? Let us know in the comments below!